As such, they are part of the nation’s critical infrastructure and require protection from a variety of threats that exist in cyber space today. By allowing the collection and analysis of data and control of equipment such as pumps and valves from remote locations, SCADA networks provide great efficiency and are widely used.

However, they also present a security risk. SCADA networks were initially designed to maximize functionality, with little attention paid to security. As a result, performance, reliability, flexibility and safety of distributed control/SCADA systems are robust, while the security of these systems is often weak.

This makes some SCADA networks potentially vulnerable to disruption of service, process redirection, or manipulation of operational data that could result in public safety concerns and/or serious disruptions to the nation’s critical infrastructure.

Action is required by all organizations, government or commercial, to secure their SCADA networks as part of the effort to adequately protect the nation’s critical infrastructure. The President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, and the Department of Energy, have developed the steps outlined here to help any organization improve the security of its SCADA networks.

These steps are not meant to be prescriptive or all-inclusive. However, they do address essential actions to be taken to improve the protection of SCADA networks. The steps are divided into two categories: specific actions to improve implementation, and actions to establish essential underlying management processes and policies.